Post by philknj on Jul 12, 2015 14:21:44 GMT
A 4:00 AM departure got me a seat on the first shuttle bus (packed with volunteers) at 6:40 AM. While driving here on the business section of Rte. 30 (between Lancaster and the Rte. 30 by-pass), I didn’t see any of the horse carriages used by the Amish people. But, on the way home Thursday night, I saw two, which was startling since I didn’t know they drove them in the dark. They have red lights flashing in the back, but I’m not sure if they have headlights of any sort in the front.
I dropped by the Will Call office, just in case Mi Hyang Lee left me grounds passes again, but no such luck. I had sent her a good luck message via Facebook the weekend before, but didn’t ask for anything and didn’t get a reply.
This was the first time I had attended a USWO practice round, so I didn’t know what to expect. I passed a practice green first, which had In Gee Chun as the only player. Team Dumbo was outside the ropes, which included Dean Herden as her looper.
A lot of players were at the range at 7 AM, but what did it mean? Were they all planning to hit the course in the AM, or were they just getting some work in? There were no pairing sheets to pick up. Instead, they had course maps with a roster of players as of July 1. An electronic scoreboard near the range rotated some tee-off time groups.
Lydia Ko was an early arrival at the range. I didn’t see her mom around, but I assume the Asian guy with her was daddy. She was getting one-on-one advice from David Leadbetter...at one point, he touched a club grip to the bill of her cap during her full swing...trying to discourage excess head movement. She also took a few shots with a flat pad shaped like a quarter moon under her right armpit. There is no resistance between Lydia and DL; she likes working with him. Like it or not, she is buying whatever he is selling.
DL’s other client showed up, Michelle Wie. Daddy put down a small rectangular mat on the range immediately behind where the ball would be placed. The mat had different colored lines for multiple swing paths.
Anna Nordqvist was really into the gadgets. She had a wide strap around her torso which had a connected piece that looped around her upper left arm. In addition, she had a 6+ foot-long telescoping rod stuck in the ground at an angle in front of her...I guess it was supposed to frame or regulate her swing finish.
So Yeon Lee had a tiny brush attached to an elastic band and hanging down in front of her right thigh. After each shot on the range, she’d give the club face a couple of delicate wipes with it. Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?
On the hair front, Danielle Kang has gone strawberry blonde with hot pink highlights under her pony tail. Breanna Elliott had it up in a bun, mostly black with Kelly green streaks.
Time to visit the course...and they made it difficult. For a daily grounds pass nobody like myself, there were no short cuts to this hole or that hole from the range. They had a buffer zone around the clubhouse. To reach the 1st tee, you had to cross the 10th and 18th fairways, then get around the 14th green and 15th tee box. Sebonack was not this bad and I don’t remember running into any serious roadblocks at Saucon Valley.
After I crossed the 18th fairway, Natalie Gulbis teed off at #18 and was playing alone...she must have started at the crack of dawn. From the fairway she hit four balls into the green with hybrids and FWs. I don’t know if she continued on to #1...probably not. A lot of players quit after nine holes. There was a foursome of Lydia Ko, Yani Tseng, Erika Kikuchi, and Ha Na Jang (I think), but only The Hulk was left to play another nine holes later in the AM.
I followed the cool twosome of Hyo Joo Kim and Jung Min Lee. At times, it seemed like they caddied for each other...shared yardage book info. I got a nice video of Lee on an autograph line between holes. Later, I dropped by the merchandise tent to look around and Lee was there on a mission...had at least three caps and was looking for more stuff.
I had seen Mi Hyang briefly on the range but missed her out on the course. She must have played her nine holes quite rapidly. Maybe she only putted and chipped the greens; that’s what Mallory Blackwelder did. The scoreboard tried to track the location of players, but it probably wasn’t current. It didn’t help that there are five players named ‘M. Lee’.
Video interviews were being done between the 9th green and the front of the grandstands. They got Meena Lee and Danielle Kang for that. Also, a lady with a notebook was doing interviews in that area and got one with Birdie Kim (“then I was in a car accident...when was that?...2010, and my father just died recently...Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”)
I caught up with Brooke Henderson and Mariel Galdiano preparing to play the 3rd hole, which began with a downhill drive over the Conestoga River. To the right of the 3rd hole was another part of the golf course that was being used by members and not part of the tournament. Black rubbery netting covered part of the tee box...other tees had the same netting, and they had green netting on the run-off area in front of the 18th green. There was a complete turnout by Team Henderson. Sis Brittany was on the bag, daddy followed inside the ropes, while mom and a couple of Golf Canada people followed outside the ropes.
The 4th hole was a dogleg right par-4 of 346 yards. Both players hit from the back tee. I got a swing video of Galdiano from directly behind her. I wanted to do the same for Henderson, but could not because daddy stood behind her target line during her swing on every hole. Fool! Then both players moved up to a front tee that could have been built for this tournament. Brooke aimed directly for the flag. I thought no way can she hit that green...aside from the distance, she had to contend with high old trees blocking the entrance. Well, she hit a high bullet that barely cleared the top of a tree in her path. It was too far to see where it landed, but Team Henderson was pleased. I reached the green and her ball was sitting on the back collar. I asked daddy what yardage they played for and he said 260. Galdiano, a husky girl with some power, tried the same shot, but her ball cut and rattled around in the trees.
The 16th hole was another short par-4 (353 yards) that had a temporary tee box far forward. Team Hanwha (Ji Young Oh and Haru Nomura) went for the green in one. The shot was a little uphill into a light breeze...using driver, Oh was just short of the green, probably in the rough in front of a greenside bunker. I asked a caddy about the distance and he said they played it as 230. Sei Young Kim arrive alone later to try the same shot with a 3-wood. I don’t think she was pleased with her first attempt...turned to her caddie who was right of the tee blocks and he tossed her another ball to hit. I have it all on video.
The play thinned out considerably in the afternoon so I returned to the range. Had a look at “the other” Canadian in the field, Christina Foster, a lefty with a long swing back and through. Mr. TaylorMade was there explaining the benefits of the AeroBurner driver to Maria Fassi. She alternated between the AeroBurner and another driver I couldn’t identify...I’m guessing it was her current driver, probably a Titleist. Mr. Honma was also here...I’ve never seen him do any work inside the ropes.
My assessment of Lancaster CC: EVERYTHING between the ropes was green, except for the divots (they should have gotten some green divot filler from Trump National in NJ). This place should bury the USGA’s Chambers Bay “sustainability” experiment forever. While there are many elevation changes, the bulk of them are gradual, so it’s not super demanding to walk like Westchester CC or Hamilton Farm GC. The spectator sight lines are better than the KPMG this year, although you have limited opportunities to get close-up views at the tees like at the Seaview.
As I walked out the front gate to the shuttle, the house across the street had a table for cheap hot dogs and drinks. Can’t remember the hotdog price, but it was much less than $5 at LCC.
I dropped by the Will Call office, just in case Mi Hyang Lee left me grounds passes again, but no such luck. I had sent her a good luck message via Facebook the weekend before, but didn’t ask for anything and didn’t get a reply.
This was the first time I had attended a USWO practice round, so I didn’t know what to expect. I passed a practice green first, which had In Gee Chun as the only player. Team Dumbo was outside the ropes, which included Dean Herden as her looper.
A lot of players were at the range at 7 AM, but what did it mean? Were they all planning to hit the course in the AM, or were they just getting some work in? There were no pairing sheets to pick up. Instead, they had course maps with a roster of players as of July 1. An electronic scoreboard near the range rotated some tee-off time groups.
Lydia Ko was an early arrival at the range. I didn’t see her mom around, but I assume the Asian guy with her was daddy. She was getting one-on-one advice from David Leadbetter...at one point, he touched a club grip to the bill of her cap during her full swing...trying to discourage excess head movement. She also took a few shots with a flat pad shaped like a quarter moon under her right armpit. There is no resistance between Lydia and DL; she likes working with him. Like it or not, she is buying whatever he is selling.
DL’s other client showed up, Michelle Wie. Daddy put down a small rectangular mat on the range immediately behind where the ball would be placed. The mat had different colored lines for multiple swing paths.
Anna Nordqvist was really into the gadgets. She had a wide strap around her torso which had a connected piece that looped around her upper left arm. In addition, she had a 6+ foot-long telescoping rod stuck in the ground at an angle in front of her...I guess it was supposed to frame or regulate her swing finish.
So Yeon Lee had a tiny brush attached to an elastic band and hanging down in front of her right thigh. After each shot on the range, she’d give the club face a couple of delicate wipes with it. Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?
On the hair front, Danielle Kang has gone strawberry blonde with hot pink highlights under her pony tail. Breanna Elliott had it up in a bun, mostly black with Kelly green streaks.
Time to visit the course...and they made it difficult. For a daily grounds pass nobody like myself, there were no short cuts to this hole or that hole from the range. They had a buffer zone around the clubhouse. To reach the 1st tee, you had to cross the 10th and 18th fairways, then get around the 14th green and 15th tee box. Sebonack was not this bad and I don’t remember running into any serious roadblocks at Saucon Valley.
After I crossed the 18th fairway, Natalie Gulbis teed off at #18 and was playing alone...she must have started at the crack of dawn. From the fairway she hit four balls into the green with hybrids and FWs. I don’t know if she continued on to #1...probably not. A lot of players quit after nine holes. There was a foursome of Lydia Ko, Yani Tseng, Erika Kikuchi, and Ha Na Jang (I think), but only The Hulk was left to play another nine holes later in the AM.
I followed the cool twosome of Hyo Joo Kim and Jung Min Lee. At times, it seemed like they caddied for each other...shared yardage book info. I got a nice video of Lee on an autograph line between holes. Later, I dropped by the merchandise tent to look around and Lee was there on a mission...had at least three caps and was looking for more stuff.
I had seen Mi Hyang briefly on the range but missed her out on the course. She must have played her nine holes quite rapidly. Maybe she only putted and chipped the greens; that’s what Mallory Blackwelder did. The scoreboard tried to track the location of players, but it probably wasn’t current. It didn’t help that there are five players named ‘M. Lee’.
Video interviews were being done between the 9th green and the front of the grandstands. They got Meena Lee and Danielle Kang for that. Also, a lady with a notebook was doing interviews in that area and got one with Birdie Kim (“then I was in a car accident...when was that?...2010, and my father just died recently...Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”)
I caught up with Brooke Henderson and Mariel Galdiano preparing to play the 3rd hole, which began with a downhill drive over the Conestoga River. To the right of the 3rd hole was another part of the golf course that was being used by members and not part of the tournament. Black rubbery netting covered part of the tee box...other tees had the same netting, and they had green netting on the run-off area in front of the 18th green. There was a complete turnout by Team Henderson. Sis Brittany was on the bag, daddy followed inside the ropes, while mom and a couple of Golf Canada people followed outside the ropes.
The 4th hole was a dogleg right par-4 of 346 yards. Both players hit from the back tee. I got a swing video of Galdiano from directly behind her. I wanted to do the same for Henderson, but could not because daddy stood behind her target line during her swing on every hole. Fool! Then both players moved up to a front tee that could have been built for this tournament. Brooke aimed directly for the flag. I thought no way can she hit that green...aside from the distance, she had to contend with high old trees blocking the entrance. Well, she hit a high bullet that barely cleared the top of a tree in her path. It was too far to see where it landed, but Team Henderson was pleased. I reached the green and her ball was sitting on the back collar. I asked daddy what yardage they played for and he said 260. Galdiano, a husky girl with some power, tried the same shot, but her ball cut and rattled around in the trees.
The 16th hole was another short par-4 (353 yards) that had a temporary tee box far forward. Team Hanwha (Ji Young Oh and Haru Nomura) went for the green in one. The shot was a little uphill into a light breeze...using driver, Oh was just short of the green, probably in the rough in front of a greenside bunker. I asked a caddy about the distance and he said they played it as 230. Sei Young Kim arrive alone later to try the same shot with a 3-wood. I don’t think she was pleased with her first attempt...turned to her caddie who was right of the tee blocks and he tossed her another ball to hit. I have it all on video.
The play thinned out considerably in the afternoon so I returned to the range. Had a look at “the other” Canadian in the field, Christina Foster, a lefty with a long swing back and through. Mr. TaylorMade was there explaining the benefits of the AeroBurner driver to Maria Fassi. She alternated between the AeroBurner and another driver I couldn’t identify...I’m guessing it was her current driver, probably a Titleist. Mr. Honma was also here...I’ve never seen him do any work inside the ropes.
My assessment of Lancaster CC: EVERYTHING between the ropes was green, except for the divots (they should have gotten some green divot filler from Trump National in NJ). This place should bury the USGA’s Chambers Bay “sustainability” experiment forever. While there are many elevation changes, the bulk of them are gradual, so it’s not super demanding to walk like Westchester CC or Hamilton Farm GC. The spectator sight lines are better than the KPMG this year, although you have limited opportunities to get close-up views at the tees like at the Seaview.
As I walked out the front gate to the shuttle, the house across the street had a table for cheap hot dogs and drinks. Can’t remember the hotdog price, but it was much less than $5 at LCC.
